Uncanny X-Men #14Review

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Are you trying to seduce me, Ms. Frost?

By Jesse Schedeen

In the latest case of “Don't trust the solicitations,” Uncanny X-Men #14 has absolutely nothing to do with Magneto. I suppose that should have been obvious when the final cover shifted from featuring Magneto to new recruit Benjamin Deeds and his transformative abilities. Luckily, what issue #14 does offer is still well worth the price of admission. And considering how badly these new characters are in need of some fleshing out, an all-Deeds installment is really a good thing.

Taking place shortly before the arrival of Kitty Pryde and her crew in last week's All-New X-Men issue, Uncanny #14 follows Cyclops' harsh training methods. Deeds is particularly put out by this mutant boot camp, fearing that his lackluster abilities will make him a joke of an X-Man. Instead, Professor Frost sets out to prove the opposite.

Brian Bendis successfully illustrates just how useful Deeds' lame-o powers can be, endearing readers much more to the character in the process. This issue ends up playing out almost like a heist adventure by the end, and also manages to tie more directly into the fallout of Battle of the Atom than expected. There is some weird, The Graduate-style interaction between Deeds and Emma as the latter all but seduces her student into a field trip. However, by the end Bendis makes it clear that A) it was all very calculated behavior and B) Emma isn't exactly Deeds' type in the first place.

Part of the initial weirdness in their interaction stems from Chris Bachalo's odd choice of civilian wardrobe for Emma. His art is fairly problematic in general considering how low-key this script is. It's difficult to distinguish between Emma and Illyana at times, and his panels are often too small and cramped to properly convey the script. That's to say nothing of the four inkers at work, which seems to be standard practice with Bachalo's pencils by now. Bachalo's style suits the darker tone of this series well, but in cases like this his storytelling is ill-equipped for the job at hand.